also known as Skripka pionera

The Pioneer's Violin1971

Subtle coloring and an impressionistic approach to landscape distinguish this patriotic animated short set to music. After a flourishing Soviet hamlet is destroyed by Nazi planes, the sole survivor is confronted by a hulking Nazi commando in a tank. The military man tries to cajole the young violinist into repeating a jaunty harmonica melody at gunpoint but the boy strikes up a noble song of resistance instead. THE PIONEER’S VIOLIN may romance the idea of martyrdom but it does so with a gravity not often found in similar films.

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Another artistically brilliant piece of animated Soviet propaganda. From 1971, this story about a boy and his violin standing up to the Nazi invaders might have seemed slightly distant, but the Soviets never missed a chance to remind its populace of the Nazi menace, especially with the fear of nuclear war and invasion as high in the USSR as in the USA. But far more important at this point than the historical context is the lovely animation and powerful imagery used throughout this short piece.

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Another artistically brilliant piece of animated Soviet propaganda. From 1971, this story about a boy and his violin standing up to the Nazi invaders might have seemed slightly distant, but the Soviets never missed a chance to remind its populace of the Nazi menace, especially with the fear of nuclear war and invasion as high in the USSR as in the USA. But far more important at this point than the historical context is the lovely animation and powerful imagery used throughout this short piece.